Hello- My husband has recently expressed some interest in German Shorthaired Pointers and has started doing some research about them. I have read that GSP's are high energy- how high energy?? Would our current walking regime be enough? What can you tell me about an "average" temperament for one of these dogs? I assume that they would "in general" be easier to train than a hound? How sensitive are they? How easy are they to train to the lead? As a pointing breed, would they get frustrated if the other dog they were walking with regularly flushed the birds they might point? In general, what would you love to let someone know who's interested in the breed but hasn't ever had a pointer before? We've had beagles, and my hubby grew up with a shepherd/collie mix as well as a few other herding type dogs, and I had a cocker and a herding/bully breed mix as a child/teenager.


A little information about us- We recently lost our beloved beagle, and likely won't be quite ready to add a 2nd dog (we still have his "little brother" Jackson, a beagle/basset mix, a little over a year old, neutered) for a little while unless absolutely the perfect dog comes across our path, but I thought that it wouldn't be a bad idea to get a little information on the breed. So, mostly a fact finding mission for now! We live in our own detatched home, with a fenced backyard, however the yard is not terribly large. We spend a lot of time walking the dog down in the provincial park that is nearby. (usually at least and hour to an hour and a half on work days, and sometimes up to 3 hours on weekends when the weather is nice) Jackson loves to flush the pheasants down there. He does it perfectly, even though we have never trained him to it! We are not a hunting family, or at least not yet. But my husband would be interested in learning to hunt upland birds at some point. We do both work full time, so we don't think that another puppy would be ideal for us at this time, as we don't feel it's fair to make a pup try to "hold it" for 8 hours plus- it was bad enough with Jackson when we got him at 8 months! He never had an accident due to waiting too long, but we felt bad making him wait, with his little puppy bladder. An older dog, out of the "puppy" and "teenage rebellion" stages would be the preference, I think. We don't have children, although we hope to have them someday, and there are a lot of children in our neighborhood. We do spoil our dog a little- he is something of a surrogate child at this point, and gets lots of love and affection when we are home. (not to the exclusion of rules and boundaries, though)

Thank you for your time and any information you wish to share!

Hello, and welcome. You may want copy/paste and repost this in the General Discussion board as you will receive more hits there.

I will say, as with anything you can't fully rely on one dog to be the same as the next...they each have their own personalities, energy levels, prey drive, as a result of different genetics and upbringings. BUT, overall, I think it is safe to say that these are impeccably intelligent and loyal dogs. My own GSP is a mad woman/gazelle in the woods, but calm and content in the house, excellent with children, loving and sweet natured, very intelligent, loyal, well behaved, a joy to train, and very very sensitive.

As far as high energy, I think the degree of which a dog expects activity is a direct result of the level activity it has been exposed to. They thrive on routine. If you have a lower level (but adequate amount) of exercise, your dog should adjust fine to this. Many of us with GSPs work full-time and as previously mentioned, they adjust to your routine. It becomes their routine. One thing to consider about adopting an older dog will be that it may be a little more difficult to train the way you want it, but not impossible. Often times, breeders have well trained older dogs that no longer breed or show. This may be a great option for you.

Walking on lead, the ease of training this will be dependent upon how you train and how consistent you are. Personally, Bella is OK on lead, but not perfect. She certainly is not a disaster, but she does like to be a little more ahead than I want her. BUT, my husband, Bella, and I all prefer our off lead exercise so I have never been actively consistent about training on lead. So I cannot fault her for being less than perfect at something I haven't put 100% into perfecting.

Good luck with your decision. Lots of people on here with excellent advise should you decide to add this amazing breed to your family 

I think it is all about laying down the ground rules when you get the dog home. Our pup (4mth old) still tries to run around the house when the door is first opened, jump on the lounge, steal shoes etc. We put a stop to that quickly and she is slowly understanding that coming in the house is a privelidge. If she does not behave, she is back outside.

I would never take my dog to the gun range to introduce the gun. Instead get some quail or pigeons and take her to a field. Get her excited about finding and pointing the birds. Hopefully you can also find a helper. Have the helper either hold your dog on a check chord or handle the gun across the field (preferably a gun that shoots blanks). Let the dog find and point a planted bird, then when you flush the bird let the dog go and chase as soon as the bird flushes shoot the gun. If the dog reacts, have the shooter back further away. If no reaction have the shooter move closer and repeat until the shooter is right near the dog. This method allows the dog to associate the gun and the shot with the birds. If you take the dog to a gun range you are very likely to get a gun shy dog. The above method works every time and the dog will hear a shot and start looking for the bird. Also, watch the dog and do not rush it. If the dog reacts back up.